Macedon Primary School Newsletter

24 August 2022

School Values: Respect, Responsibility, Creativity, Integrity, Teamwork

Principal's Report

Dear parents,

Flagpoles

I was excited to raise the flags at school today on our new flagpoles.  The year six student leaders debated a range of school improvements that they would like to see earlier this year and voted in favour of improving the state of our flagpoles at the front of the school.  Ava (Cultural Captain) and Riley (Student Council Captain) presented the proposal to the school council which was accepted and endorsed by the school council.  I love getting involved with the student leaders and supporting them to bring their improvement ideas to life for our school, what a great result.

Parent Information Session – Conversations around mental health 2 – Wednesday 31st August 7:30pm - WebEx

We are welcoming back Jennifer Dix and Dr Billy Garvey for the second instalment of our parent sessions: Conversation around mental health 2.  We will be exploring the question “How can we best support children’s emotional and social development in the primary school years?

I will be joining Jennifer and Billy online on Wednesday evening via WebEx.  The link will be sent out to families who register their interest by following this link Register here

2022 Book Week Parade – Thursday 25th of August

We are celebrating book week this week and have been engaging our students in a range of activities to celebrate our love of reading and books.  We are excited about our annual book week dress up parade, tomorrow morning, Thursday the 25th of August. The parade will be between 9:30am and 10:30am and will be on the basketball court or the JCB if it is wet.  It is always a fun day, and we look forward to seeing what our students come up with as a costume.  We encourage everyone to re-use and recycle household items for their costume if possible.

Seeking Expression of Interest Fundraising Opportunity – Catering Mountain Writers Festival November 5 and 6

We have several parents from Macedon PS community supporting the Mountain Writers Festival.  We have been approached by the Mountain Writers Festival committee with an opportunity to raise some funds by for the school and support the Mountain Writers Festival.

We have been offered the chance to provide a catering option for the Writers Festival on the afternoon/evening of Saturday the 5th of November with all proceeds going to the school. 

We have also been offered the opportunity to provide a cake stall for the festival on Saturday and Sunday, with all proceeds going to the school.

I am seeking expressions of interest from you about coordinating either of these options and raising funds for the school.  If you are in the position to support the school in this way and would like to organise either a cake stall to run across the weekend or the hot food catering on the Saturday night, please email me for further details matthew.forrest@education.vic.gov.au

Father's Day Stall

On Wednesday the 31st of August, the PFA is running the father’s day stall during the school day.  Gifts will be $6 each and we can only accept cash.  If you want your child to buy something for their father or someone special in their lives, please send them along with some money in a labeled envelope on Wednesday.

Macedon PS Learning Expo – How the world works.

The students have been engaging in and range science-based learning this term, from space, physics, forces, and habitats.  The topic is an exploration of the physical and material world; of natural and human-made phenomena; of the world of science and technology.

We are celebrating our learning in this project with a science learning expo on the 8th of September between 4pm and 6pm.  We will be opening our classrooms up for you to share and experience some of what our students have been learning in this time.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Xuno – School Management Platform

Thank you to those parents who have already signed up to the Xuno platform.  Xuno is a school management platform to help us streamline the information management at the front office.  It should act as a one stop shop for everything school related and help us get the information you need when you need it.

Currently on Xuno you can advise us of absences, update your personal details and access your child’s semester one reports.  In the future we plan to use the system to arrange excursion permission slips and payments in a paperless way and manage all our news and announcements.  I encourage you to login via your welcome email, use the button on the Macedon PS webpage or click the link below.

XUNO Macedon Primary School

Kind regards and Sampai jumpa (until next time),

 

Matt

Important Dates

25 August - Book week parade from 9:30am 

26 August - Grade 1/2 swimming, Kyneton 

29 August - Grade 1/2 swimming, Kyneton

30 August - District Athletics (selected Yr 3 -6 students) **NEW DATE**

31s August - Father's Day Stall

1 September - ICAS Maths Exam

2 September - Grade 1/2 swimming, Kyneton

5 September - Grade 1/2 swimming, Kyneton

8 September - Science Expo 4 - 6 pm

9 September - Grade 5/6 Hot shot tennis, Gisborne 

13 September - School photo day 

14 September - District basketball

16 September - Last day of term 3 - 2:30pm dismissal

TERM 4:

3 October - First day of term 4

18 October - 21 October - Year 5 & 6 Camp - Howqua

31st October - Curriculum Day (student free day)

1st November - Melbourne Cup holiday (student free day)

2 November - 4 November - Year 3 & 4 Camp - Weekaway Lancefield

5 December - 6 December - Year 1 & 2 Camp - Lady Northcote 

20 December - Last day of the year (1:00pm dismissal)

Fathers Day Stall - 31st August - $6 gifts

From the office

Head lice

We are getting advised on a daily basis of head lice in students. They are most prevalent in the younger grades, but they can occur in any aged child. Please check your child's hair for lice on a regular basis and if you see any eggs or live lice, please treat according. If you child has long hair, it is advisable to keep their hair tied back to avoid the spread of lice. Please find a link to the Better Health website https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/head-lice-nits

Spare Clothes

With the wet weather upon us and the school grounds muddy, we are asking student to pack a spare change of clothes. We have a limited supply of spare clothes in the sick bay, however, we would appreciate you to bring in some spare from home. Also,  if your child does borrow some clothes, please returned them to the school.

Xuno

Thank you to those parents that have logged into the Xuno platform and set up their passwords. Macedon Primary is starting the transition to Xuno. Parents can login now and look up student reports for semester 1, 2022. You can also use Xuno to advise of absences, update your details, see the school calendar and your child's attendance.  We will eventually be able to accept payments for excursions and book parent/teacher interviews. To access Xuno please click on the link https://macedonps.xuno.com.au/index.php or there is a tab on the school webpage. 

Late arrivals

If your child is late to school (after 9:00am) can you please sign them in at the office. The teachers mark the rolls at 9:00am and if your child is late to class they will be marked as absent and you will receive an SMS asking about their whereabouts.  The classrooms are open from 8:50am.

Foundation 2023 enrolments

Foundation enrolments for 2023 are now open. If you have a child that is starting school next year of have friends or family interested in enrolling their child at Macedon Primary, please contact the office for an enrolment form or click on the following link: https://macedonps.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2023-Student_Enrolment_Form_Updated_Feb_2018.pdf 

Voluntary Curriculum Contributions

The process for invoicing parents for voluntary curriculum contributions. If you are unsure if you have paid or if you would like to pay, please contact the office.

Working with Children Check

All parent helpers at Macedon Primary must have a valid working with children check. It is free for a volunteer check, please apply online at https://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/individuals/applicants/how-to-apply-1If you have a valid working with check and have yet to provide it to the school, please email a copy or come into the office and we will take a copy.

Julie and Emma

Student Achievement Awards

The following awards will be handed out at Assembly this Friday in the JCB at 3:00pm

FKB - Felicity L - for high level participation in our learning sessions.

FKB - Jonah M - for working hard to improve his handwriting.

1/2AM - Eli C - for his excellent work in numeracy this week.

1/2TT - Isabel G - for consistently producing best effort work and being kind.

1/2TT - Ethan P - for being an engaged learner and loving a math challenge.

3/4GS - Estee F - for brilliant work in our 'fractions flag' activity. Well done Estee.

3/4GS - Toby C - for an outstanding effort in all areas of our learning this week. Great work Toby!

3/4VW - Mila K - for her positive attitude to learning.

3/4VW - Darcy S - for always putting in her best effort for all learning tasks.

5/6RC - Madison C - for working cooperatively and maturely during partner reading.

5/6RC - Bailey MS - for working cooperatively and maturely during partner reading.

5/6AB - Bryn G - for working diligently on typing up "The Giver" notes for the class.

5/6AB - Abigail C - for being a true leader who helps out without asking. Well done!

5/6MS - Max P - for amazing focus during inquiry rotations.

5/6MS - Hunter F - for excellent work during inquiry rotations.

Art Awards 

Hudson F - FKB - for huge amounts of positivity and for working very hard.

Jonah M - FKB - for being an amazingly creative and positive artist.

STEM Awards

Liam - 1/2TT - for an amazing keynote 

Xavier - 1/2TT - for an amazing keynote


Congratulations Eva!

Congratulations to Eva W from 5/6AB who recently entered her sheep's wool into the Australian Sheep and Wool Show in Bendigo. Eva's sheep Fleece received a "Highly commended fine Merino Fleece"

Year 5/6 Movie Short Films

The Year 5/6 students have been busily writing and producing short films in preparation for the Macedon PS Learning Expo. We look forward to welcoming you to the world premiere that will be held in Room 11 on Expo Night. Here is a little taste of some of the movies that will be screening. 

Year 5/6 Shadow Dance piece - sneak peak

Middle Gully Program Update

25th August – 3/4MS and 1/2CS

1st September – 1/2TT and 1/2AM

8th September – No Landcare – preparation for Expo

15th September – Foundation classes

Parent helpers are always welcome, please sign in at the office prior to going over to Middle Gully and make sure the office has seen your current Working With Childrens Check.

Our sessions are on a Thursday afternoon from 2:00pm - 3:30pm. 

Younger siblings are welcome, but must be supervised by their parent or guardian.

Call out for a softball expert!

Mr O is searching for a parent who knows softball well and may be able to help the school umpire during our District event on the 4th of October. If this sounds like something you would be interested in, please contact Mr O on david.oxworth@education.vic.gov.au or the office.

Art Update

This week in the art room senior students have returned to our normal routine where I demonstrate an art process and then students select what they will do; choosing from a range of processes we’ve learned to date this year. This allows students to pursue processes and materials they feel most interested in. They use whatever they have chosen to explore, reflect and sometimes produce pieces that express their individual thoughts or feelings. We use this “Teaching Artist Behaviours” style of learning in the art room to help students develop the strongest possible sense of themselves as artists. Our students have risen to that challenge unbelievably well this year. Emmanuel loves observational drawing and (along with many other students) he is continually refining his excellent technique this year.

 

HELP!!!

The hunt for small grocery boxes, for the upcoming Expo evening, continues!

PLEASE hunt through the pantry, the recycling and the bathroom cabinet for small boxes, for our fabulous robot making activity. They can be dropped off at the Art room any time.

Thank you! 😊

STEM Update

Digital Tech

This week, Grade 3/4 students have been working on coding their own 3D games. This time we are using a game engine and we talked about the uses of these as well as how we can program A.I (artificial intelligence) to create computer-controlled opponents. 

Coding for a player controlled character is one thing, but then having to learn, and try to teach a computer to learn (anticipating how a player will act, balancing all the rules so it is fair and so much more) is another challenge they were keen to tackle.

Below you can see some play-testing in action!

PS: The program we are using is called Kodu Game Lab, it is a free program by Microsoft you can use at home too if you like, but only on Windows based machines.

You can download it here:

http://www.kodugamelab.com/downloads/

Thanks

Mr. Garcia

Scholastic Book Club - Term 3

How to Order on Book Club

- Simple online ordering process. https://mybookclubs.scholastic.com.au/parent/login.aspx

- Each Issue of Book Club is only offered for a limited time, so order as soon as you can!

Our next bookclub orders are due by the 2nd of September

Family Portrait Fundraiser - 11 September

We are pleased to advise that our family portrait fundraiser is on this year. We have used this company previously and the photos are always beautiful. If the weather permits, photos can be taken in the blossoming orchard at Middle Gully. If you have any queries, please contact Ronelle on 0413900804. Bookings can be made at the following link:

The booking link may say sold out, but that is only for the first timeslot, there are plenty of spaces available.

Macedon Primary School - Booking by Bookwhen

Fell free to share with neighbours / friends / families

Outside School Hours Care

Please notify the office or email oshp@macedonps.vic.edu.au if your child is sick and will not be attending before or after school care.  

We now have spaces available for casual days, however you need to fill out an enrolment form PRIOR to your child starting at the service. f you have a permanent booking and do not need the service for After School please advise the program as soon as you know, preferably before 11.00am on the day so we are able to give that space to another child.  For Before School, please call before 6.30pm the day before or email the service on oshp@macedonps.vic.edu.au

Late cancellation fees apply if your child’s place is cancelled after 11.00am.  Further, if you do not cancel your child and they do not attend, fees may still apply.

Fees for 2022

Our rates for 2022 are: $16.00 for Before School Care (7:00am - 8:45am) and $23.00 for After School Care (3:30pm - 6:30pm). All you need to do is call the school 5426 1518 or email oshp@macedonps.vic.edu.au to book.  If the unexpected happens and a casual booking is required within 24 hours, please contact the school via phone, we cannot accept walk-ins after school.  Please note that enrolment forms need to be completed at least one business day before the first session of care.

Please pay through the school via Direct Deposit, using the following details (not BPay):

Account name: Macedon Primary School

BSB: 063-840

Account: 1003 4330

Vicki, Helen, Karen & Marie.

School Photos - 13 September

Community News

Sunbury & Macedon Ranges - R U Okay Day

Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health is very pleased to let you know that we are partnering with Macedon Ranges Shire Council, Sunbury Business Association and Sunbury Connected Communities to deliver a local R U OK? Day campaign starting 1st September.   

 As part of this campaign the Building Healthy Communities Team at Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health will be offering a free 30 minute webinar, 6:00 PM Thursday,  1st September. 

The webinar is open to anyone in the community and will address how people can be confident and effective when asking if someone is okay? The webinar will also discuss available supports and how to help someone experiencing life challenges. The webinar is free, but bookings are essential. Please share this information with your networks and co-workers.

Register here: Sunbury and Macedon Ranges R U OK? Webinar - 1st September, 2022 Survey (surveymonkey.com)

 #RUOKSunburyMRS 

#RUOKDay2022 

Macedon Primary School

Macedon Primary School acknowledges the Wurundjeri people as the traditional owners of the country upon which we learn and work. We recognise their continuing connection to land, water and community and pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging.